


A Killer Book Club

by NatalieJane92



Category: Agatha Frost, Agatha poirot, Murder Mystery - Fandom, Murder She Wrote, Mywork - Fandom, Original - Fandom, Work - Fandom, midsummer murder, mine - Fandom, my - Fandom, originalwork
Genre: Book Club, Christmas, Death, F/M, Minor Romance, Multi, Murder, Murder Mystery, cosy mystery, female and male romance, light read
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-14
Updated: 2017-11-14
Packaged: 2019-02-02 14:39:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12728526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NatalieJane92/pseuds/NatalieJane92
Summary: When Naomi begged her four sister's to join a book club, not one of them showed the same excitement she did.That is until Naomi's oldest friend and neighbour is found strangled in her own home.Naomi is heartbroken and wants to mourn. But when Frank is put in the frame for a murder Naomi knows he did not commit, she is determined to discover the truth behind Marion's death.Who did kill Naomi's friend and why?The five sisters put their novels to one side before bringing out their note books and pens.With a murderer on the loose, they are determined to find out who really did kill Marion Turner.





	A Killer Book Club

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Chelle Bulsara (MorgendorfferV93)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MorgendorfferV93/gifts).



> I am not on here nearly enough but decided today I would make the effort to put up my work again. I would really appreciate honest feed back as I want to improve over time.   
> Please remember I am in the learning process before commenting anything that might ruin my confidence! Thank you very much. I hope you enjoy my work.

"You can't be serious?" Asked Calvin, the amusement obvious in his voice as he scrubbed at the dirty dinner plates.

"Yes! What's wrong with that?" Naomi scoffed, both hands on her slim waist.

"Book clubs are for old women! You're twenty-five not fifty." He chuckled, throwing a tea towel over his shoulder while shaking his head.

"I constantly have a bad knee, never go clubbing and would always choose reading a book on my arm chair over going drinking. You remind me almost daily that I am like an old woman." She reminded him with a small laugh.

"It's hard to argue with that." He laughed over his broad shoulder, making her roll her eyes with a smile.

"While it annoyed Naomi that Calvin often laughed at her choice of hobby or interest. It was understandable.

Naomi had a new hobby every month which was something she had picked up from her Mom according to one of her many sisters, Danielle.

It had been ten months since Naomi and her Mom and had been in the same room as one another. She had no intention on reuniting with her any time soon and hated being compared to her, even if what Danielle was saying was true.   
She had been through her sewing stage where had made awful dress, knitted squares that would be left abandoned and started painting's that she had never finished because "she didn't have the time". The one hobby she did stick with, was her reading.

"I would ask you to join us but you'd need to learn the skill of reading first." She joked with a wink, making him throw the tea towel from his shoulder at her head.

"Behave!" He laughed, faking offence. "When does this start anyway?"

"Tomorrow afternoon after work." She explained, spraying disinfectant on the dining table before wiping it clean.

Naomi had been a book worm from the age of eight, when her Mother had given her a copy of "Heidi" to read. She had devoured that in a day, hiding away in her blanket fort which she had made from her bunkbeds, blocking off the bottom bed with a large quilt. For hours she had sat with her nose stuck in the book and from then on, she had been crazy about reading.

In her bedroom which was quite big, she had painted her walls red and silver and had a double bed and large oak book case which was rammed with all kinds of books.

Her favourite genres were murder mystery, realistic romance, fantasy and some of the old classics.

"Who's going to be in this club?" He continued, dragging her from her thoughts. He was beginning to sound interest.

"Oh it is going to be me and my sisters actually. Well, all but Louise. She is hardly down for travelling all the way to London from Cornwall every Friday afternoon." Naomi explained, hating that her little sister and youngest brother had moved five hours away in a car.

Naomi was hardly a popular woman when it came to it. While she had a lot of acquaintances she kept her circle small with Calvin, her two best friends Harley and Natasha.

She had never grown up alone however, with five younger sisters a brother. She had been taken into her Nan's care at the age of ten when social workers had snatched her and her sisters from the arms of her sobbing Mom.

Her life had gone down hill from there, but her sisters kept her sane and the five of them had formed an inseparable bond.  
"Why don't you actually come to the first meeting? The girls would be chuffed to see you. You would actually make it entertaining for them." She said remembering their protests when she had originally brought the idea to their attention.

Turning around, he looked down his nose at her with a thin black eye brow arched.

"Not a chance lady. I am staying in catching up on my coursework. It won't do itself." He said, and Naomi mirrored him, arching her own eyebrow.

"coursework" She said, using her fingers to create airquotes which he shrugged off.

"Well while you're busy with that, we will be stuffing our faces with cheese cake and drinking tea." She said, realising how pathetic her attempt at tempting him sounded.

* * *

Once all five sisters had arrived in the lime green and beige living room of Bridgets house, they sat in their usual spots on the two three seater couches, each cradelling a warm mug of tea. Except Danielle who sipped on a cold glass of lemonade, sucking on the small ice cubes.

"Apparently coffee is bad for unborns." She explained, trying to stop the ice popping out of her mouth while she answered a question no one had asked.

"I actually heard the same thing but I craved cappuccino like mad with little Sue! She used to go crazy in there when I was pregnant. I'd end up chucking my-"  
"Ok I think we stop there. I don't need your talk of baby sickness putting me off my cake." Lesley said with a groan, while rolling her narrowed blue eyes. "It's a book club anyway, not a Mother's meeting." She continued with a pout, making the women shrug unapologetically.

"Speaking of. What book did you fancy starting? You all remembered to write down your favourite's right?" Asked Naomi, who had been busy flicking through her phone for ideas while her sisters talked about babies.

"Bridget? If you brought yours we will start there."   
"Well actually I thought I would bring the books rather than write the titles down. That way you can read the blurbs. Saves me racking my brain or making them sound awful." She said, reaching around the side of the brown leather sofa to pull out a carrier bag.

Reaching inside she pulled out three books, each cover had a beautiful male model on it Naomi noticed as her sister grinned at her four sisters.

"Gay romance!" She beamed and they all sighed loudly at once.

"Shocking." Danielle huffed nastily making Naomi glare at her, warning her to keep her mouth shut.

"We're not here to judge each other's choice." She scolded and Danielle pouted with her blonde eye brows meeting in the middle.

"What about you Lesley?" she asked, ignoring this.

"I brought over just the one book. It's about a werewolf who is in love with a human. It's pretty good." She said holding out a small black novel to Naomi who skimmed the back, nodding her approval. She passed it onto Jojo, the youngest of the five, who sat to her left.

Once all five sisters had read the blurb, they agreed on putting it as an option, placing the copy on the wooden framed, glass coffee table which sat in the middle on the room.

"Is no one going to read the back of my books?" Bridget sulked, but the women chose to ignore this, moving onto Danielle's choice.

"The Host. Remember the one I read like five times? That woman who wrote Twilight wrote it." She grinned, looking down at her fingers nails.   
Danielle was the binge reader, who was more than happy to devour the same book three or four times.

Naomi was the opposite. Once finished with a book, it would be added to her book shelf and never opened by her again. She had considered passing the books onto others or giving them to the local charity shop, but loved her collection way too much.

"We have already read that one. I loved it." Naomi said with a smile, remembering her Mom buying her the book when it had first been released while she did her work placement in a nursery.

"What about you Jojo?" Danielle asked with a shrug

"Oh sorry. I completely forgot to be honest." She said apologetically, finally speaking for the first time since the ladies had sat down.

"It's OK. Any suggestions?" Asked Lesley, putting down her empty mug.

"No. Haven't given it much thought." She replied, her tone clipped.

"It's OK. I have brought two with me anyway. The first book is called 'You're the one that I want' by a lady called Giovanna Fletcher. She married Tom from McFly!" Naomi grinned towards her sisters who stared at her blankly, not understanding her excitement.

"And my second book is 'Me before you' by Jojo Moyes. They made this one into a film actually." She continued. "The lady over the road lent me this one."

"Marion?" asked Bridget, suddenly sitting up.

"Urm. Yes. You know her?"

"Yeah I go over once a month to give her hair a trim! She's a cheeky old thing." She laughed, making Naomi smile warmly.

"The books?" Danielle asked impatiently, her arms folded across her large chest. Her four sisters glared at her. It was clear they were all wondering why she had bothered turning up.

"Here." Naomi said through gritted teeth as she passed the first book to Jojo.   
Once each sister had read the back of both books, they decided it was only fair to give Bridget's a chance too and skimmed her three copies.

"This one sounds brilliant!" Lesley grinned, seeming a little shocked that Naomi had chosen well, making her bite her tongue.

"I've heard the author writes really well." She said, feeling pleased with her choice.

"I read this before she got married to Tom actually. Can't for the life of me remember her name then." Danielle said, fiddling with her false nails, as if she was bored out of her mind. "It's a great book. I am happy to read it again." She said looking up at her sisters who nodded, agreeing it was a good one to start with.

"Then it's settled. Will you all be buying printed copies or reading it on your kindles?" She asked and each decided on ebooks, agreeing it was a cheaper option.

"We will meet back at mine in one week, same time then. I'm so excited! Drop a message in our group chat once you finish it." Naomi said, clapping her hands together with an enthusiastic grin.

Her sister's forced smiles, Danielle sarcastically putting up two thumbs, which dampened her mood. While each of them enjoyed a good book, they did not quite appreciate the art of writing the way she did.

She had practically begged them until they admitted defeat and agreed on doing a book club. "It'll be fun!" She had said bouncing on the spot.

"Now that that's been decided. Who wants take out? I am starving!" Bridget grumbled, rubbing her stomach.

* * *

"Urm. Naomi? Are you OK?" Asked Calvin, peaking his head around the living room door, looking both confused and concerned as Naomi cried silently in the dark. The only light being that from her small reading lamp.

"Oh I'm fine! It's just this book." She sighed, feeling embarrassed. "I wasn't warned I would be left heart broken when I borrowed it from Marion!" She said, closing it and tossing it lightly to one side.   
It bounced off her small pug cushion and landed on the carpet making he groan.

"You're a snotty mess over a book?" He asked with amusement as he sat next to her, putting a strong arm over her slender shoulders and pulling her into a hug.

"You know me. I hide my girly side but it comes out when I read or watch a good romance." She sniffed with a soft chuckle. "I wonder if the girls have read it yet?" She thought out loud, tapping her chin before wiping her eyes and nose with a tissue which had been handed to her by Calvin.

"Why don't you ask them? Or phone Bridget. Might cheer you up! I'm constantly hearing you loudly cackling when you two are chatting." He laughed, nudging her playfully with her free hand.

"Might not be the worse idea. Knowing Bridget, she is going to crying too when she reads this. She is even more emotional than I am, believe it or not!" she said, thinking back to all of the times where Bridget had sobbed into a handkerchief while the two of them watched movies.

"I should probably return this to Marion first though. It was so good, I may have to buy a copy of my own and read it again at some point." She said, surprising herself.

"You never read a book twice! Must have been worth the puffy eyes and snot." He winked making her laugh, playfully slapping his hand.

"Well while you do that, why don't I make us both a mint hot chocolate with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles in your favourite Christmas mug? Might even throw in one of my candy canes if you're lucky." He said with a grin, rubbing her arm which was still wrapped around her.

"sounds perfect." She whispered, rubbing his back before standing up and grabbing her hand bag from the side of the couch.

"I won't be long." She told him, quickly kissing his stubbly cheek, seeming to surprise the two of them.

A strange atmosphere fell over the two, making them laugh nervously, scratching the back of their heads.

"Right. Back in a bit"

Knocking her cold knuckles loudly against Marions large white front door, Naomi shivered while breathing heavily against the cold icy air. Her hot breath hovered infront of her mouth briefly before disappearing into the night sky.

"Marion?" She called, peaking round to look through the large front window. To her surprise, the large red curtains were already pulled closed.

Pulling up the sleeve of her black puffy coat, Naomi looked down at the silver bracelet watch which had been an early Christmas gift last week from Calvin. It read that it was just before ten PM, making her wonder if she had gone to bed much earlier than usual.

Marion was a night owl, who would nap through the day and stay away until early hours of the morning with her nose stuck in gossip magazines.

"Everything OK over there?" Asked Frank, startling her as he peaked uneasily at Naomi over his front garden wall.

Frank was the nosey neighbour of Faypine who you would often see peaking through closed curtains at the slightest sound. Naomi had grown up being given a good telling off for playing football in the road outside his house on numerous occasions.

"I'm not sure. Have you seen Marion today?" She asked him, walking over to join him at the wall, not wanting to raise her voice.

"Saw her go out this morning. She was back within two hours with that old shopping trolley she drags around and a bunch of carrier bags. Got a taxi back at about five." He said rubbing his white stubbled chin.

Naomi bit her tongue, because she knew Frank was the type to write down these times. She found it all a bit bizarre and wondered if he, like herself, had anxiety.

"She's probably sleeping love." He said with a shrug, pulling a thick grey cardigan over his large belly.

"I don't think so. She doesn't usually head to bed until three or four in the morning." She said, chewing the inside of her cheek.

She walked back to the front door, deciding to peak through the creaky, painted gold letter box. Narrowing her hazel eyes, she shoved her blue fringe to one side and peaked through, but could see nothing clearly through the dark.

"Do you think it would be terrible if I was to go around the back and check on her? Would that be an invasion of privacy?" She asked, wondering if Frank really understood the meaning behind the words. She walked back to the garden wall and slumped against it.

When it felt like Frank might burn a hole through her head with his eyes, she slowly stood up, quickly apologising.

"Maybe. But if you are worried about the old girl it might be worth checking on her. I'm sure she is fine. But she will understand if you explain you were just concerned for her wellbeing. She knows you worry love. We all do." He said with a sympathetic smile on his wrinkled face.

"Actually! I'm a silly old fool. I have a spare set of keys to Marion's don't I! She gave me a set weeks back to let in a delivery bloke. Had a new double sofa. Gorgeous thing it was-"  
"Sorry Frank, I don't want to seem rude. But the keys?" Naomi asked, her cheeks burning, even in the cold.

"Sorry love. Yes! I will grab them for you now. Saves you climbing over fences! Don't want you landing in that mut of hers sh-"  
"Thanks Frank" She grinned, cutting him off quickly. Belly chuckling, he waddled over into his house.

It was not long before he was back, clutching a set of colourful keyrings.

"Here you go love." He smiled, putting them into Naomi's hand before closing her fingers around them.

"Thank you Frank. I appreciate this so much. I will go and make sure she is OK and bring these back over." She grinned, lifting the keys up while patting him lightly on the shoulder.

Doing a small jog back to the front door, she waved over her shoulder towards Frank who shuffled his feet back into his house.

Pushing the rusty silver key into the keyhold, Naomi jiggled them with a groan when they did not turn. She hissed through clench teeth before turning her back towards the front door and leaning on it with a huff.

When the door move backwards, she gasped while landing in a large thump on the wooden flooring that ran through the hallway into the kitchen.

"Ow!" She cried, rubbing her elbow which had hit the ground.

She stood up quickly, straightening herself out before squinting into the dark hallway.

"Marion? Are you home? Your front door has been open! You really should remember to lock it. Anyone could get in!" She called crossly, having had this conversation on a number of occasions.

"I have your book here!" She called, trying to keep her voice low which echoed a little. She pulled out Marion's book and held it out, her eyes darting around nervously.

Being in another person's home without their knowledge or permission made her feel on edge. A knot formed in her stomach, leaving her feeling a ltitle queezy.

When a door in the kitchen banged loudly, she jumped back holding a hand on her chest. Walking slowly through the hallway towards the kitchen, she took deep breaths as her heart thumped angrily against the black jumper under her thick coat.

"Marion?" She asked, slowly stalking into the kitchen. When she spotted Marion sitting at her kitchen table she let out a breath she had not realised she was holding. Relieved, she laughed to herself feeling ridiculous for panicking.

"Not like you to fall asleep this early." Naomi chuckled, walking round to give her a little shake to wake her up. When greeted by wide lifeless eyes, she gasped, holding two hands over her mouth which hung open in shock.

Marion's neck was a dark shade of purple, and her white hair stood on end, not in it's usual tight bun.

Stumbling backwards in shock, Naomi pulled out her mobile phone with shaking hands.

"Hello? Police and an ambulance please! Now! I think my neighbour has been strangled. She is dead." She sobbed down the phone, her voice quivering as tears rolled down her cheeks.


End file.
